Reading-based filmmakers Andrew Pochan and Sue Lange were driving back to Reading after a writing event in Lancaster in June 2016. On the way home, they found themselves ensnared in a traffic nightmare.

"I said to Sue, 'Wouldn't it be funny if we made an opera about being in traffic?'" Pochan said. "We talked about it for a little while, and it wrote itself in about 15 minutes."

The result of that conversation is the short film "Traffic Opera," literally an opera about road rage set at a downtown street corner. It is the work of a regional crew, cast and group of musicians and features an original score by award-winning Wyomissing composer and musician Chris Heslop, who also scored Primary Stages' "The Bear Prince" and two from Reading Theater Project: "Da Ponte" and the recent "Fight or Flight."

A benefit for "Traffic Opera," a picture directed and edited by Pochan and written and produced by Lange, will feature a lineup of vocalists involved with the film as actors, singers or both. The concert will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. at the WCR Center for the Arts, 140 N. Fifth St.

Admission is free, but a tax-deductible donation is requested to help with the cost of fees to apply for film festivals, as well as travel expenses and various insurances. Food will be served, and wine and beer will be available.

"We wanted to give the opera singers a chance to perform Chris' great music before a live audience," Lange said.

"Sue Lange warned me about preparing for 'Traffic Opera,' and then she actually went ahead and did it," Heslop said. "Andrew (Pochan) had musical ideas that we discussed briefly, but at that point they were just anticipating a 10-minute film. Almost every scene is a different style of music, so it would have been all over the place at 10 minutes."

The final cut runs 18 minutes.

"What eventually drew the score together were the melodies," Heslop said. "The scene dictates the style of music. And I didn't want to be too obvious either. However, it made sense to use a reggae sound for the two Rastas, and country for the truck driver," whose gigantic vehicle, out of fuel, gets stuck in the intersection, blocking traffic in all directions.

Lange wrote the lyrics and screenplay first, Heslop said, meeting only once with the film team before he tackled the score.

"I like to have the lyrics in hand," he said. "The rhythm is in the words; they should come out like speech. I like to let the words take charge."

Heslop's contribution took about five months to complete, he revealed.

Meanwhile, Pochan and Lange were scouting locations and trying to deal with the challenge of filming on actual streets. Pochan said that despite the team's belief that making the film in a smaller township or borough would be easier, it turned out that Reading was the ideal choice.

"We had the help of the police, particularly Chris Rothermel, who's in charge of traffic and detours," Pochan said. "Other communities just didn't want to get involved, which really was surprising for us. So we had to devise a plan to detour cars around the set. And that included making both Sixth and Court streets two-ways. Both are one-way streets and neither are state roads. They're streets owned by the city. And there were no weekend events in town on July 8 and 9.

"The police were very accommodating. Thankfully, that all worked out."

The film traps a group of racially and economically diverse drivers, all of whose cars have bumper stickers flaunting their political and religious beliefs (one reads "Speed Kills, Jesus Saves"), as well as their social standing. And among those stuck in the jam is an armed, escaped convict in a stolen car.

"The film's obvious message, even though I'm not a message kind of guy, is a cultural one," Pochan said. "We're all living together, and we have to make this work. There's no political agenda here. The location works because it's clearly Reading but it also exudes a universal sensibility. I like to focus on the worst of Reading because, frankly, it's more interesting.

"We use Reading as a springboard for the rest of the world. This city is much more of the world than people think. Many people can't see that. Discovering the beauty in its not being perfect is inspiring. It's what makes the city kinetic. Attracting artists here is the answer."

That's a lesson Pochan learned during his stint working on "This Is Reading" with playwright Lynn Nottage. In fact, he was busy at work on the Nottage installation while he was working on "Traffic Opera."

Making the film happen

Assisting with the shoot were two directors of photography: Steve Buckwalter who worked with Pochan on the Unit 1 crew, and Kevin Hackenberg ("The Sixth Sense," "Chasing Amy") who worked with Lange on the Unit 2 crew. The film includes several shots from the sky, thanks to the use of a drone. That angle was necessary to inform the intensifying action.

For a film that runs less than 20 minutes, "Traffic Opera" demanded a plethora of talent and planning.

Serving as executive producer was filmmaker and producer Tracy Schott of Schott Productions. Schott is best known for her powerful documentary "Finding Jenn's Voice."

Both Lange and Pochan have worked with Schott over several years, so the team looked to her for advice.

"Because I have a production company, I'm set up to help with things like permitting, finances, insurance and fundraising," Schott said. "I also tried to help Sue and Andrew think through how to execute this very challenging production. Logistically, it was not an easy shoot. Shutting down a city intersection for two days in the middle of July is challenging and expensive. But thanks to Sue's persistence, and some help from ReadingFilm, she pulled it off.

"I hung out for most of the shoot, and even stepped in as part of the chorus. I also tried to support Andrew through the post-production process. And of course, I gave my two cents during edit. My most important role, though, was just to listen and help Sue work through the frustrations of making this happen."

Before they joined forces for "Traffic Opera," Lange and Pochan created a three-part anthology web series entitled "Amazing Berks." It proved popular with viewers and, according to Pochan, gave the team the necessary credibility to tackle such a daunting film project.

Heslop explained that the musical/vocal portion of the film was recorded before the shoot.

"That's kind of the opposite of how most musical movies are made," Heslop said. "It would have been easier had we composed the music afterwards. The music with voices was played on speaker when the film was shot. There was just too much ambient noise to shoot it any other way."

Lange is known for her bi-weekly column "Clubs, Etc." that runs in the Weekend section of the Reading Eagle. She is also the resident playwright for Reading Theater Project.

Pochan is a film graduate of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. During his course of study, he earned scholarships to study film in Dubai and in Finland. In Dubai, he worked with acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, who died in 2016. Pochan is also a muralist, and his work can be seen throughout West Reading.

The filmmakers are looking to submit "Traffic Opera" to festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca and the Austin Film Festival in Texas (in the United States), and festivals in Tokyo, Berlin, Italy, England, Dubai and the Midnight Sun Festival in Finland.

Those interested in attending Saturday's benefit are asked to RSVP by emailing trafficoperafilm@gmail.com, or by calling 484-769-9327. You also can visit Traffic Opera Performance at eventbrite.com. For more information on the film itself, visit the website, https://trafficopera.wordpress.com.